The following stories are about the rabbit Juan Thul (John Rabbit) and the various jokes he plays on other animals and on people.

The Trickster Rabbit story cycle was a common story cycle amongst many of the Gulf coast indian peoples. It is thought for example that the "Brear Rabbit" stories got into the American folk culture through the enslaved Choctaw indians who passed the stories onto the enslaved blacks. At the present time however there are many stories amongst the Maya which have come from such things as Walt Disney movies and Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny comic books, so it is hard to know in some instances what is truly native to the Maya and what is recycled from outside media. For example, amongst these "Juan Thul" stories there is the "Tar Baby" story. Does this story originate amongst the Maya or is it a recent import? In one of our conversations with Don Alfredo Barrera Vasquez the subject of the "Tar Baby" story came up. He assured us that the "Tar Baby" story was an old story amongst the Maya predating any modern mode of cultural transmission. His assumption was that the wide-spread trade that was carried on in the Gulf of Mexico in pre-hispanic times was responsible for the diffusion of the Trickster Rabbit stories throughout this area.

There was once a small Rabbit who came out daily to feed himself on a field of grass. It happened that he was seen by a Big Male Puma. Then the Puma said, "Today I am going to eat you John." he said to him.

John answered him, "Hey. Why are you going to eat me? Well I have been left to guard this little field so that no one can enter to ruin anything." he said. "O.K. There is a way that I can come with you wherever you enter. Only if you carry my food of grass so that I can come with you."

Then the Big Male Puma said, "Well if thus you will come with me O.K. well I will carry your food of grass." spoke the Big Male Puma, thus he answered. Anyway, John then gathered the two burdens of grass, then he placed them on Puma. He thoroughly tied them on the back of Big Male Puma between the front and hind legs. He tied it everywhere. Then he began to go. Then said John, "O.K.," he spoke it is said, "since you took my food the grass well onto your back also I have to get up on you so that I can go more comfortably." John spoke to him it is said.

Then said Big Male Puma, "O.K. Because you are accompanying me well I too will do that which you say." spoke Big Male Puma it is said. John then climbed on the back of Big Male Puma. Then they began to go. Only as they were going then John lit his cigar. Then Big Male Puma said, "Hey John! Watch out that you don't light the grass on my back!" spoke Big Male Puma. Anyway John just listened. Then he just contentedly smoked as he went on Big Male Puma. Anyway, when the cigar was finished then he stuck the end of the cigar on the grass which Puma was carrying. Just as John saw that the grass had caught fire they had just arrived at the mouth of a large well, John then threw himself forcefully, then he got off. Big Male Puma then went about beating himself to put the fire out but the grass which he carried only caught fire more. Then he wildly threw himself into the well. Well in there it was put out. After it was out and he made certain it was out he climbed out. Then he said, "John has made fun of me therefore I have to catch him to eat him. He has done to me whatever he has wanted." spoke Big Male Puma. Then he set on the smell of John.

"Not me." said John when he spoke to him. "Me I am here to take care and hold up the world so that it does not fall down. Can't you see? You can see that I have been here so long that my shit is old." said it is said John to the Big Male Puma thus he answered. "They have even gone so far as to have made a bell for me here so that I can pull it here." he said it is said. He said to the Big Male Puma, "It is not I who have escaped you. I was place here long ago by the true god. I take care of the world. Don't you see that if I take away my hand from here I hold it up it falls?" said John, thus he answered. Just as John took away his hand "weh" then (pieces of) the cave fell. Then he immediately took hold of it again. "If you wish to do me a favor," he said it is said to the Big Male Puma, "you would hold up the ceiling for a moment. Me not even food for so many days have I eaten I have not eaten." said John thus he spoke as he said to the Big Male Puma.

Then spoke the Big Male Puma, "If thus you won't take a long time John well I will hold up the ceiling." said the Big Male Puma. "But careful that you don't fool me because I can catch you. Just try to fool me again."

Anyway. Big Male Puma saw himself fooled when he just held up the cave. "If thus you see that after awhile I haven't come pull the little bell which is next to you so that I will come immediately." he said it is said John to him. Anyway then the Big Male Puma went and strengthened himself a little to hold up the cave. While he just held it up the Big Male Puma got tired of waiting for the return of John who was out eating. Then he quickly pull the bell which was told to him, then fell down a large hornet's nest which began to bite him so that the Big Male Puma ran out jumping. Anyway as he came out he said, "Hey but John has really fooled me. I have to capture him so that I can eat him." said it is said Big Male Puma. Then he went after the smell of John. As he was going after John suddenly he saw him on a large flat meadow where he was contentedly while holding a vine (lit. "rope of the sky"). He was just playing with it.

"No. Not me. Me I hold the "rope of the sky" so that it doesn't fall. If I should let it go by god the world would be destroyed." said it is said John. "Stay and see how beautiful the "rope of the sky" which I am holding on to is." said it is said John to him. John then jumped lightly up and said to the vine, "Shrivel yourself up vine! Shrivel yourself up vine! Shrivel yourself up vine!" Thus he spoke as he went up (the vine). Then he says to it, "Extend yourself vine! Extend yourself vine! Extend yourself vine!" as he climbed back down it. Big Male Puma just watched.

"If because of that you want to eat me, then eat me, but then the world must also come to an end. Don't you see. The thing which I am holding is the rope of the sky." said it is said John to him. "Grab me! But careful lest you forget to say when you want to that which I told you." said it is said John to him.

At this Big Male Puma came to see that it was very beautiful then he went just to grab it. Then the Big Male Puma just began to say, "Shrink yourself vine! Shrink yourself vine! Shrink yourself vine!" as he just went up. Then he just says it is said again, "Stretch yourself vine! Stretch yourself vine!" and nicely he just came down again. Well that is what he was doing that is what he was saying when it happen that he forgot. Then he says, "Shrink yourself vine! Shrink yourself vine! Shrink yourself vine!" He forgot to say that which he is to say the Big Male Puma forgets the way it is told to him. Just it keeps on really shrinking until it snaps, then Big Male Puma fell. After he fell and returned to consciousness. Then he said, "Hey! But that John has really very much fooled me! I have now to eat him!" said the Big Male Puma. Then he followed the smell of John. John went directly to a meadow of a cocoyol palm tree. Anyway, after he arrives then he picked ten loads of palm nuts. Then he splits them. Anyway, then he begins to eat. He is just quite happy as he is eating the palm nuts when the Big Male Puma appears.

"How then do you know? Me since I was put here so that I can very much split open the palm nuts of all this meadow palm by the true god." he said. John grabs that palm nut, he holds it with his feet. Dze!, he splits it. He takes it, he eats it.

"Well don't you see what I am eating? My eggs (testicles) I am eating." he says it is said. "If you do yours like that (which) are bigger, it should be that the seed inside is very much more delicious it seems." John says it is said to Big Male Puma. Big Male Puma is just listening. Well just while he was just doing it like that he began to see himself become fooled again. Then he began to go, then he began to near himself beside John. He watched intently. John takes a palm nut between his feet. Dze!, he splits it. He takes it, he eats it. John says to Big Male Puma, "Here! Try the seed of my eggs so that you can taste it." he says it is said to him. "You taste to see if it isn't very good." Then Big Male Puma took it and eat it. Well as he was eating it he felt it was delicious. "If you want you can do yours like that." said John it is said to the Puma. Anyway Puma just saw himself fooled like that. He sat himself well down on a rock, then he began to take that palm nut, then he began to split it. "Not that one like that! The ones are your eggs! Those are the ones with the good seeds. Not those!" he said it is said. Well anyway in that he is just fooled like that then Big Male Puma went and took out his eggs. Then he laid them on that rock. Whack! Then Big Male Puma smashed his eggs it is said. Then he immediately laid down, then he died. When John saw that Big Male Puma had just died then he jump up running. He is just clapping his hand as he went. Well that which he did like that when he saw that he just killed Puma was that he took off. I was just passing there where John was seated he was very contented because he had just killed Big Male Puma.

There was they say a little rabbit, he was being sought after by a hunter. When he finally got tired of running, then he saw a cave, then he went in. He's thinking like this, "Wow! If the man comes in here, he has then to shoot me. How am I going to do it? I'm going to hold up the cave. If he comes in here, I say to him since I was born I'm holding up this cave." Then he held up that cave.

"O.K." says that hunter. Then he held up this cave. When the little rabbit saw that he had just fooled that man, then he went. That hunter then is thinking that that rabbit will return. He is waiting the return of that rabbit, but he didn't return. He made off.

There was it is said a man, who went hunting in the forest. Then he saw a little rabbit, then he said like this, "Now I am going to shoot the little rabbit." Then he began to go after that little rabbit, then he lost him because that little rabbit ran very hard.

When then that little rabbit arrived at a mound of shit, then he saw there were many shit rollers (dung beetles). He says like this, "Oh my comrades, a man is chasing me with his gun. He wants to kill me. Help me!"

The rabbit answers like this, "When the man arrives then you say like this, 'Get out of my way comrades. If the spirit of my horse is frightened, what am I going to do? I can't deliver the load I am taking.' Like that you're going to say it."

"O.K." say those shit rollers. Then with that that little rabbit went to hide himself.

"Malob!" cu yalic le cuclintaobo. Ca tun bin u taccuba le chan thulo.

When that man came, then began to speak the shit rollers like this, "Get out of my way my comrades. Be careful to frighten the spirit of my horse. If you frighten the spirit of my horse, I can't deliver the load I'm taking." So say the shit rollers as the man nears. Then he stopped, he waited the passing of that horse, but he sees nothing coming in the road. Thus he did, then he lowered his eyes down, then he saw those little shit rollers. Then he said like this, "Ah, you little children of the devil. For certain it is you who are yelling here." Then he grabbed one, then he put it in his mouth. When the rest of them saw him just take that one, then they all went.

"Ha!" says then that man. Then he opened his mouth, then came out thereby that little shit roller. Away he went. Then that man looked down so that he could grab another so that he put it in his mouth, but there wasn't even one. They have already all gone. Then he says like this, "You little children of the devil! Because of you that little rabbit has just escaped me. Now I won't eat because all you do is lie." With that he went home.

There was a man, he made his garden. Then he planted an area with chile pepper. When it began to be eaten, then he spied, then he saw that rabbit certainly was eating it. Then said that man, "I have to catch you." Then he said, "I'm going to make a man of pitch." After he made it, then he took it into the garden, then he put it in the path of the rabbit. Then he went to his house.

The other day as it became light, then he went into that garden. As he arrived that little rabbit was just coming in. Then he stopped to see, then he heard what that little rabbit says. He says like this, "Get out of my way, you hear. If not, I'll punch you." Then he hit the little pitch man, then his hand stuck because it was sticky. When he saw he wasn't able to pull it off, he says like this, "Are you thinking that I haven't another hand?" Then he struck again, then his other hand stuck. He sees he can't take his two hands off that man, he says like this, "You think I don't have my foot?" Then he kicked, then his foot stuck too. Then he kicked with the other foot, then it stuck too. He says again, "Are you thinking I haven't got my stomach?" Then he hits the man with his stomach, then it stuck too.

Then the owner of the garden neared, then he took him to his house. The big lady's spirit was contented when she saw she has to eat that rabbit, then she said to her husband, "I have to make good food." That man says, "Good. Do it. I'm going to get my compadre so we can eat together." Then he went.

Then said that little rabbit, "Allow me to be able to dance so that you can see."

Ca tu yalah le chan thulo, "Chaeni ca patac in okot ca a uile."

"If you don't go, I'll let you."

"Ua ma ta bine, cin chaicech."

Then that rabbit says, "I'm not going."

Cu yalic le thulo, "Ma tin bin."

Then he was let loose, then he began to dance. He hopped, but the only thing was bit by bit he did it so that he got further away until then he went. When her husband came again she was really crying. Then her husband said, "What are you crying about woman?" Then that woman said, "My food the rabbit got lost." So it was that nobody eat rabbit this day.